Posted on 10/29/2005 8:22:54 PM PDT by markedmannerf
NEW DELHI, Oct. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 55 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 others injured as three blasts rocked crowded shopping centers in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the bombings as an act of terrorism.
The attacks came just days ahead of the biggest Hindu and Muslim festivals in the Asian country, where more than 80 percent of the people are Hindus and over 13 percent Muslims.
The first blast was reported at around 5:40 p.m. local time from the crowded Paharganj area, one of the most congested areas in central Delhi close to the New Delhi Railway Station.
A closely following second one hit Sarojini Nagar, another busy shopping area in south Delhi, popular among the middle class and foreign tourists.
There were also reports of similar blasts from a few other areas, including Govindpuri, also a teeming market, in southern Delhi.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.xinhuanet.com ...
anyone claiming responsibility on this yet?????
Not that I can see yet.
Blowing up vehicles in the market place and killing innocent people and decapitating Christian school girls. And Prince Charley is going to come to America and tell us why we should all show more understanding towards Islam. These animals don't deserve to live.
"There were at least 35-40 people travelling on a bus through Govindpuri when the conductor spotted a suspicious looking plastic bag on the bus that did not belong to any of the passengers. He immediately asked all the passengers to get out of the bus. < snip> There were just five people on board when the blast rattled the bus. But quick thinking and equally fast reaction of both the driver and the conductor saved the day for the passengers. Both the driver and the conductor suffered injuries. The driver is in a critical state."
If-you-had-not-seen-this PING.
Precisely.
The Europeans (especially the policy makers) better wake up and smell the dead. Their stupid liberal policies will only get more innocent killed.
I am a bit surprised that there was no claim or responsibility because these murderers are always boastful when they kill civilians. The only reason could be that they notice the dumbness of these attacks, and are laying low, for now.
Terror does Diwali shopping in Delhi--killing 55, hurting 155
[ Sunday, October 30, 2005 03:04:47 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES ]
NEW DELHI: Terror returned to the streets of Delhi on Saturday evening with three serial bomb blasts claiming at least 55 lives and injuring more than 150 at Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj and Govindpuri markets. The strikes at markets crammed with Diwali shoppers were clearly intended to dampen the festive spirit.
The three blasts took place within a span of 18 minutes - the first was at Paharganj market at 5.38 pm, the next at Govindpuri at 5.52 pm and the third at Sarojini Nagar at 5.56 pm. Another bomb in Khari Bauli (at Chandni Chowk) was defused at 3.30 pm by the police. The bombs were improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which have been used with deadly effect by militants in J&K.
The explosions caused panic-stricken shoppers to flee from the scene. The explosives were packed with shrapnel. Most the victims were women and children. Blood-soaked streets were littered with burnt bodies and sundered limbs.
Even normally conservative home ministry sources had by late night put the estimated toll at beyond 50.
Though there were reports of 10 arrests in connection with the blasts, police denied the rumours.
The needle of suspicion was swinging towards Lashkar-e-Taiba. This terror attack in Delhi comes after the May blasts in two city cinemas that were ascribed to Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa. Prior to that there had been a lull since the Parliament attack in December 2001.
In fact, the growing estimate was that Islamic terrorists were on the back foot in Kashmir, spurring them to renewed acts of desperation even in the midst of the killer quake in the Valley. Saturday's attack signals their determination to spread terror elsewhere in the country.
The attack comes three days before Diwali and six days before Eid-ul-Fitr, and is expected to dampen spirits of both festivals. The police is hunting for clues - forensic experts are scanning the area of the blast. According to unconfirmed reports, they have picked up a BSNL SIM card from the blast site at Paharganj that might yield vital leads.
Saturday's blasts betrayed the unmistakable sneaky tactics of terrorists. At Paharganj, they had placed the bomb on a parked rickshaw, just outside M L Jewellers. What seemed to underline the tragedy was heaps of colourful clothes which the shoppers had come to purchase. Those on display hung tattered and charred.
The timing of the blasts seemed to be carefully chosen a day ahead of Dhanteras, which is a busy shopping day. Many people stepped out hoping to beat Sunday's rush and shopkeepers had employed extra hands to set up stalls.
TERROR COMES: Terrorists behind the serial bombing in the Capital on Saturday were just a step ahead of the security and intelligence agencies. Armed with a specific tip-off that terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba were out to avenge the conviction of their comrades in the Red Fort shootout case, security arrangements had been beefed up at all vulnerable points in the Capital.
But in the process, security forces were stretched thin, while the terrorists had the advantage of choosing their timing and targets at leisure. They stuck even as the court deferred handing down sentences to Laskhar operatives convicted for the assault on Red Fort five years ago.
Saturday's attack stood out for lethality and precision planning, marking the return of terrorism to Delhi after a lull enforced by improved deterrence.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but intelligence agencies seemed pretty sure that it was the handiwork of Lashkar-e- Taiba. And not just because the timing coincided with the scheduled award of sentences to its members in the Red Fort case.
Noted security analyst B Raman stressed that among different terror groups operating in India, Lashkar is best equipped to carry out such well-choreographed attacks, involving simultaneous assaults at different locations.
A high security alert was sounded within minutes of the attack, with commandos and other police personnel rushing cabinet ministers and other politicians with high-risk profiles to their well-guarded residences. Incidentally, most of the UPA notables happened to be in the Capital for the death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi on Monday. Markets teeming with Diwali shoppers were instantly shut down.
As PM Manmohan Singh, who was in Agartala at the time of the attack, rushed back to the Capital and home ministry officials and national security brass went into a huddle, intelligence agencies were convinced that the terrorists were planning to vitiate communal harmony just before the festivals of Diwali and Eid.
Actually we do need to understand them better. We need to understand that they want everyone in the world either dead or forcibly converted to Islam. If we really understood that, we'd be able to deal with them more realistically.
The peace and joy of Allah works its special holy magic on Delhi.
On this same day, Muslim outreach workers beheaded 3 Christian girls walking to school in Indonesia.
And in the US, CAIR launches more lawsuits against police investigations of the sacred Madrassas and kindly mullahs.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1279595.cms
Saturday's blasts come close on the heels of police closing in on the main Ayodhya accused, Maqbool Hussain (32), a JeM terrorist. Police have gathered intelligence that the conspiracy to attack the temple in Ayodhya had been hatched in Bangladesh.
Maqbool was held with his aide Adnan, a Pakistan national. Prior to the Ayodhya attack, Maqbool was staying at Mehrauli. Adnan apparently crossed over to India a few years ago and managed to acquire an Indian passport.
He also married a Kashmiri woman. The police and intelligence agencies are working in tandem to arrest the associates of Maqbool in the attack — the reason why the breakthrough has not been made public as yet
I think most of us understand that part perfectly. It is when people keep trying this toiuchy feely thing with Muslims my blood pressure goes up. Not a day has gone by that a non Muslim, somewhere in the world, is killed by a Muslim.
Oh, but they're really veddy, veddy interesting people who have been treated so shabbily by President Bush....
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